Poland
The Housing First advocacy started in Poland in 2013 and was led by homelessness experts involved with FEANTSA. beginning in 2019 two EU funded pilot programs were kicked-off in three towns. Up to date about 183 people had a chance to take part in a HF based program run by six operators including ngos and municipalities. New opportunities are opening with the EU programming period of 2021-27.
In 2016 the findings of the Housing First – Evidence Based Advocacy project showed that among the homeless population there was a substantial group of people whose needs were not addressed despite them using services. Their profiles were coherent with HF customers.
In 2019 Centre for European Projects included HF as a priority in a tender for transferring innovations from abroad. Two partnerships were established: In Warsaw with the Housing Policy Office of the Municipality led by the Cooperation Fund Foundation, Housing First Poland Foundation and Y-Saatio and also in Warsaw, Wrocław and Gdańsk led by the Saint Brother Albert Association, Polish National Federation for Solving Homelessness and Casas Primerias. The projects resulted in 70 people being supported, two HF guidebooks and local acts on Housing First in three towns.
The current government is open to pro-housing advocacy of all groups in need including people with disabilities, mental health problems, leaving care, leaving prisons, senior citizens and experiencing homelessness. “Small reform” of the Social Welfare Act is promised including adjustments of standards for services for people experiencing homelessness such as shelters and training apartments. The deinstitutionalisation is strongly promoted as a strategy to improve access to services available in the local communities. Housing First is widely spread as a priority in strategies and also in regional tenders for EU funding as a program for people with the most complex needs. The activists are still advocating for HF to become a transformative paradigm for national policy to end homelessness.
Our Partners in Poland
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Housing First Poland Foundation – Fundacja Najpierw Mieszkanie Polska
HFPF is shaped around the belief that ending homelessness is doable and housing is a human right. A place that you can call a home such as an independent apartment with a bedroom, kitchenette and bathroom is the necessary base to face the demands of a long term experience of homelessness. Only once people feel safe ontologically, can they effectively use the support to deal with their crises. We believe that shaping support around the core values of Housing First is most effective in ending homelessness. To us the core values are: building professional supportive relationships, treating housing as a right, respecting the right to live by own decisions, being appreciated for each step towards recovery, being provided with support adequate to diagnosis and being acknowledged as a full community member. Our dream is for every person experiencing homelessness to have access to housing and adequate support.
Trainers
Anna Gazda
Housing First Polish Association, St. Brother Albert Aid Society
anna.gazda.quale@gmail.comCountry: Poland
Languages: Polish
Professional manager, consultant, trainer, auditor and coach. Former social worker. Co-works with public and non-government stakeholders. Experience in designing, implementing and managing social programmes and projects. In Housing First she delivers trainings, advocacy, expertise, fidelity review. Currently she is a leader of HF in Wroclaw (Poland) and member of the board of the Polish Housing First Association. She completed IPS (Individual Placement Support) Leadership Training. Main areas of work: supporting for HF implementation, searching for solutions, network services, planning and management: resources (inc. cooperation between sectors), knowledge and change.
Julia Wygnańska
Housing First Poland Foundation
fundacja@najpierwmieszkanie.org.plCountry: Poland
Languages: EnglishPolish
Julia’s engagement in homelessness began with research for the Municipality of Warsaw during her Sociology studies at the University of Warsaw before becoming an independent researcher for the European Observatory on Homelessness (FEANTSA). In her later projects she concentrated on evaluating housing led programs through in-depth interviews with people experiencing homelessness. Since 2019 she’s the President of the Board of Housing First Poland Foundation. Currently she provides fidelity consultation for the teams that want to develop their programs towards HF principles. Last but not least she is a social integration therapist (PTPOW 2019) and motivational interviewing practitioner (PIDM 2022) and with that background she works as a support worker for people experiencing homelessness in Warsaw.
Magdalena Syrówka
Przyszłość jest dziś
Country: Poland
Languages: EnglishPolish
Magdalena is a therapist, psychologist, sexual educator, and mediator. She worked as a frontline support worker and then as head of the Housing First implementation team in Warsaw. She both provided support on a daily basis and in crisis situations for tenants with ACT approach and organised coordination of the stakeholders. As a psychotraumatologist she also provides support in a field of sexual education and leadership in family based on Jesper Juul’s values. Her core is nonviolent communication, personal responsibility, and respect for the integrity of the individual.